Deepwater Floats Long Island Offshore Wind Power to LIPA

Ehren Goossens

March 26, 2014 — 2:31 PM EDTMarch 26, 2014 — 2:31 PM EDT

Deepwater Wind LLC, the company building what may be the first offshore U.S. wind project, is seeking a contract from the Long Island Power Authority for a proposed $1 billion wind farm off the coast of New York.

The Deepwater ONE project would be built 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk and start supplying more than 200 megawatts of power in 2018, the Providence, Rhode Island-based company said today in an emailed statement. Deepwater already has a federal lease for the project, envisioned to eventually produce as much as 1,200 megawatts of power.

Deepwater is responding to a 2013 request for proposal by LIPA for 280 megawatts of renewable energy. The state-controlled entity is seeking options after applying for a federal lease for its own wind project proposal with Consolidated Edison Inc. and the New York Power Authority off the coast of Long Island. LIPA canceled a proposed wind project off Jones Beach on cost concerns in 2007.

Deepwater has proposed four other projects in the U.S., including a 30-megawatt farm being built off the coast of Rhode Island that’s scheduled to begin operation in 2016 and may be the first offshore wind facility in the nation.

The company still plans to build Deepwater ONE to its full capacity, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Grybowski said in an e-mail today. The project would be far enough from the coast that it wouldn’t be visible from shore.